Most Companies not aware of Groundswell

Are most American businesses using Twitter and the new social media to add vitality to their focus and mission? No. Most are definitely not.

Almost unanimously, when asked if their company needed a “micro-blogging platform that connected them in real time to thousands of users around the planet” they answered, well– “Not really.” Of course, had Ma Bell taken a poll before launching the telephone, the answer would probably have been the same.

Forrester, the research consultancy that wrote the book on the ‘groundswell‘, has released the results of a new research report. The study shows that real-time collaboration has stalled in the business community due in most part to the lack of adoption in technologies such as web conferencing and instant messaging. That may be true with existing technologies but it is important to note the new generation of applications that extend real-time collaboration tools.

The State Of Workforce Technology Adoption by Forrester is definitely comprehensive in its examination of how people use technology in the workforce. It’s a mass-market report, meaning this is how people use technology today. They surveyed 2,001 “information workers” at organizations with 100 or more employees. It is Forrester’s first report in this realm. It covers devices, productivity, mobility, collaboration, and intranet portals

Forrester analyst Ted Schadler wrote the report. He makes the point that the purpose of the study is to walk a mile in the shoes of the information worker.

These are information workers who:

Predominantly use desktop computers: 76%

Have a pent up demand for smart phones: Just 11% use them at work

Rely on email for most everything

Do not really use traditional collaboration tools such as web conferencing and instant messaging

Just look at how dominating email has become and you see the challenges to real-time collaboration.

This niche opportunity should be encouraging to i-Media students who understand the power of the groundswell. To know that most companies don’t even have current access to the latest social media tools opens up all kinds of job opportunities for the savvy new media specialist.